


UNLOCKED: Reversed

by KittyPaw



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Book 8.5: Unlocked, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Don't copy to another site, Healing Center, Keefe's chapters told by Sophie, POV Third Person, Sokeefe - Freeform, Sophie's chapters told by Keefe, Spoilers for Book 8.5: Unlocked, abilities, reverse POV, shadowflux
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyPaw/pseuds/KittyPaw
Summary: It's the novella at the end of Unlocked - except Sophie's chapters have turned into Keefe's chapters, and vice versa. Sometimes that means scene changes, and sometimes it's a different POV of the same scene. Obviously contains spoilers for Unlocked.
Relationships: Elwin & Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster & Councillor Oralie (Keeper of the Lost Cities), Sophie Foster & Fitz Vacker, Sophie Foster & Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Keefe's POV

Keefe's head hurt like _heck_.

The last thing he remembered was his mother doing some weird thing, and then there were shadows and Tam and Sophie was all worried about him and then - nothing.

Nothing at all.

Which meant he'd probably been passed out, and probably for a ridiculously long amount of time - like the length where Foster and Elwin would pause, look at each other with this super worried face, and say, "You don't need to know that yet," like that didn't totally give away that it had been long enough to freak Keefe out.

Yeah. He knew the drill.

That probably meant that he and the people he hung out with passed out _waaaay_ too much. But hey, when you basically keep the Lost Cities safe, that's to be expected.

His mind seeming to be coming back to the whole _being-Keefe-thing_ , he decided to try waking up. But as soon as he tried to open his eyes, he grimaced - or he thought the grimace. He couldn't move. His muscles were _not_ working.

And now he was brought back to reality.

His mom had done some freaky thing to him, and he had no idea what it was. Or what it was supposed to do.

And that made it significantly harder to be _Keefe_ in his head.

Or maybe _Keefe_ just meant something different now. Now that mommy dearest had tampered with him. Because of his _legacy._

That darned legacy that he didn't even want.

People should be allowed to choose how they want to be remembered, and then work towards that. They shouldn't have to fight their mother's version of their success along the way.

So maybe that was what it meant to be Keefe. Maybe the days of hiding his family trauma behind jokes and laughter and lightening the mood were over.

The thought made him sick to his stomach.

Or it would have, had he been in position to feel a ton.

And then -

His sense of hearing must have started to work again, because he heard a voice say, "...with Oralie. I think she said it has something to do with a cache, but... I'm not sure what."

"Even if you did know, it wouldn't be wise to tell me - I'm not exactly a part of the inner circle of the Black Swan _or_ the Council, though the amount of times you and your friends - especially Sophie - require the Healing Center for stuff related to that makes me sometimes feel like I am."

He put together that Elf Number 2 was Elwin. So Elf Number 1... _he knew the voice_...

"I'm just worried. She and Oralie... well, I'm not sure if she'd want me to tell you, but let's just say it's complicated."

 _Fitz_! That's who it was.

He knew the voice.

Now if he could just... open his eyes... show them he was awake...

First he needed to feel where his eyes were.

 _Dang shadowflux and its ability to remove all sense of touch_.

_Wait..._

Keefe was making progress in the waking-up-ordeal, and though it was probably a small victory when he managed to wiggle his eyelids a little bit, it felt like a huge success.

His eyelid-wiggle didn't go unnoticed. He heard Fitz's voice again. "...Am I going nuts, is this wishful thinking, or did Keefe's eyes just move?"

 _Yes_ , Keefe wanted to say. Instead, he responded with another eyelid wiggle.

Then he wiggled them a little more... he was getting so close...

His eyelids fluttered. He saw his eyelashes. And then suddenly, he was using his sense of sight.

_Wow. This felt weird. His eyes hadn't done this kind of work for however long Tam's magic had had him unconcious._

Fitz blinked twice. His mouth dropped open. And then he said, " _Finally_!" He smiled - a big, real smile, once that Keefe grimly noted he hadn't seen on his friend in a long time - even before the uncounsciousness.

"I'm transmitting to Sophie _right now_!"

Keefe wasn't sure whether to thank his best friend for inviting the person that he probably wanted to see the most right now, or grimace because she was going to be _very_ worried about him - like in a really cute way, but still.

Fitz closed his eyes for a long enough time and had a frustrated enough look to know Sophie must be _very_ busy with whatever she was doing with Oralie - enough to block out her cognate. And he could see it on Fitz's face when he made the breakthrough.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "She's on her way _right now_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! There's your first chapter! Let me know what you think. I should update... okay, I'm not super consistent, but they're pretty close together! They shouldn't be more than a week a part for the first five chapters at least, and after that they should be about a week apart. If it's more than a week, I'll leave you an author's note as to why.
> 
> Comments/kudos are very much appreciated! Have a great morning/day/evening/night!
> 
> ~ KittyPaw


	2. Chapter 2 Part 1: SOPHIE

_Keefe's awake!_

Sophie's mouth had dropped.

And so had what she was doing as she immediately excused herself without any explanation - though she had a feeling Oralie knew that there was a good reason.

Or maybe she didn't. And in that case, Sophie still couldn't bring herself to care.

It wasn't like Sophie owed her an explanation for anything. It wasn't as if Sophie didn't have any reason to actively keep her most enormous, consequential secrets away from Oralie for the rest of her life.

But she didn't have time to let her thoughts go sour about the person whose DNA was apparently in her blood - the person who had kept that secret for much too long.

Because only one think mattered right now.

Keefe was awake.

Her excitement and jitteriness, paired with her worry and concern, slowed her down a bit, but she managed to overcome all the excess energy, get her crystal, and find her way to the Healing Center that she knew so well.

She let out a soft, sardonic laugh when she remembered that this used to be the equivalent of a human school's nurse's office. Now it had become the hospital for dealing with the reckless kids caught up in the Black Swan.

As she rapidly approached the Healing Center - so fast that her steps echoed throughout the halls - she began to hear voices.

"...already believe it." Was that _Keefe_?

That just made her walk faster.

"Even if I'm right, it's not like it's a bad thing. So you're a polyglot and an empath." Sophie stopped at the door and blinked as Fitz continued. "That -"

"You are?"

And that was when Keefe looked over at her - awake. Eyes open and everything. Exactly what she wanted to see.

If she wasn't so worried about hurting him (and if it wouldn't be extremely awkward to do in front of her ex-boyfriend), she'd crush him in a hug and stay there forever. 

But - a _polyglot and an empath?_

_What had she missed?!_

"'Bout time you got here, Foster!" Keefe said, but Sophie was too busy blinking and sorting through her panic and confusion and joy and fear and frustration - and everything else she was feeling that Keefe admittedly probably had a better read on than her.

"Uh, you should probably step back Sophie," Fitz warned. "I think your emotions are too strong for him."

Sophie took a step back. The _last_ thing she wanted to do was hurt Keefe. He'd already been hurt enough.

"No, they're not!" Keefe argued - or, tried to argue. She didn't miss the strain in his voice, even when he cleared his throat and tried again. "Nothing's wrong. I swear, I'm fine."

"He keeps saying that," Fitz told her, and when Sophie looked over at Keefe, he was glaring daggers at him. There was no point though - Sophie could have guessed it. Keefe just loved to say he was fine, and Sophie had assigned herself the job of making sure he _always_ meant it and calling him out when he didn't, or didn't know it.

Keefe's glare got even harder when Fitz added, "But Keefe's been picking up on all of our emotions without even trying. And he's always been able to do that with you, so I think you're overwhelming him right now."

"Okay, I'm done liking Captain Perfectpants," Ro announced, reminded everyone of her presence.

And then Keefe said, "Uh, for the record, most of the emotions are coming from you, Fitzy. You wouldn't happen to have unresolved feelings for anyone in this room, would you?"

 _Oh_.

So, Keefe was _really_ mad at Fitz for telling Sophie she was overwhelming him.

Keefe definitely meant her, and everyone in the room knew it.

But Sophie and Fitz knew they'd been together. And broke up. And Fitz had wanted to try again, but... Sophie didn't feel like she could handle any sort of relationship at the moment, much less an unpredictable one.

Keefe probably didn't know most of that.

Which made it very awkward for Sophie and Fitz, who were very much avoiding each other's eyes.

Elwin coughed, breaking the silence. "Well. I think maybe visiting hours should -"

"No," Keefe interrupted. He looked around like he was blind and dizzy, furthur proving Sophie's point that he wasn't okay - though she tried not to let herself feel too worried, because Keefe would pick up on it and further assert the lie that he was fine. "It's okay. My senses just... need to adjust. Plus, I never took anything for the headache and nausea. I should have."

Sophie sighed, and had a feeling that Keefe had actively denied the medicine for the headache and nausea, though she was glad he was finally being smart about it.

"Yes, you _should_ ," Elwin agreed, furthur confirming Sophie's allegement. Elwin then leaned in to whisper to Keefe - and Sophie couldn't quite make out what he said, but it made Keefe's cheeks heat up. He shrugged.

When Sophie saw Keefe's look towards her, he realized he was probably feeling her hurt and embarassment from his statement, not to mention the leftover heartache that she was trying not to acknowledge. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just meant -"

"I think it's best if I don't let you finish that sentence," Ro jumped in. "The probability of you making things worse is muuuuuuuch too high. And since Im being more helpful than you deserve, I'll also add that now might be a good time for you to tell us how you're feeling - and spoiler alert: 'Fine' is _not_ the correct answer."

Sophie was with Ro on this one.

Keefe rolled his eyes. "Okay, how about this? My senses are a little overloaded - but it's definitely _not_ anyone's fault."

Of course he would say that - but Sophie was convinced. She still backed away a few steps, saying, "It got worse once I was here, though, right?" She asked, worry probably seeping into her voice - not that Keefe couldn't feel it with his Empathy anyway.

"It's _not_ you, Foster. Trust me. The dizziness isn't getting any better with you standing way over there."

Then she must still be too close.

As much as she hated to admit it, she probably needed to leave -

"I just need medicine," he insisted. "Elwin to the rescue!"

Elwin gave Keefe a few elixirs - and Sophie waited in the doorway with baited breath, ready to get very, very, very far away if it turned out she was in any way slowing Keefe's recovery. That was the _last_ thing she wanted.

She wasn't selfish enough to potentially harm him just for the sake of staying close to him.

But then Keefe's face relaxed slightly, and Elwin said, "Now we're getting somewhere. And you're probably right about needing to eat something. Think you can take down three squelchberries?"

Would Sophie ever stop learning new elvin terms?

Keefe shoved the berried in his mouth, his face scruncing - okay, not good then? Or not helping? Did she need to leave after all?

"Guess I should have warned you not to do that," Elwin apologized. "Sorry. I thought you were familiar with squelchberries." Okay, so it wasn't just a leftover from her human upbringing - good to know. "They have a whole meal's worth of nutrients in each bite - but they have to be eaten one at a time, otherwise there's too much juice."

"Hai-wunnit-hall-ish-oosh," Keefe said. Sophie figured it roughly translated to _I wouldn't call this juice_.

"Okay," Ro said to Elwin. "I'm going to need about a thousand of those."

"Hee-oo!" Keefe said, which was probably the teeth-stuck-together way of saying _Me too_!

Elwin laughed. "I almost want to give you guys a bag and see what kind of chaos ensues. But I'm guessing I'd end up regretting that. And thankfully there's an easy fix. Tilt your head back, Keefe, and try to open your mouth as m uch as you can."

Keefe did so - but his teeth remained stuck together. Elwin tried pouring a bottle of youth over it, but it mostly splattered on Keefe's face.

"This may be the greatest thing I've ever seen," Ro informed everyone. "Can we try dunking his head next?"

"I'd be happy to help," Sandor added.

"I'm down," Fitz agreed.

Sophie sighed. This attitude, however it helped to lighten the mood, was _not_ going to help Keefe. "I'm just glad I'm not the only one who doesn't know everything about all the weird plants here," she said quietly, voicing her concern from earlier. She caught a trace of gratitude on Keefe's face, which made her heart warm for some reason. Like the fluttery reaction from her crush on Fitz, but with actual warmth. It was probably the platonic love version, she decided.

"Hang in there, Keefe," Elwin said, drenching Keefe even more. "A little more should do it."

Eventually, Keefe managed to wrench his jaw open, and Elwin said, "Wait! You have to rinse the rest of the juice down first, or you'll get stuck again." Keefe nodded, his mouth still open as he downed _four_ bottles of youth.

Ro let out a happy sigh. "Seriously - you _have_ to give me some of those berries."

"Same!" Fitz flashed Keefe a wide smile, but there was still a bit of tension.

But Sophie was only worried about one thing. "How are you feeling?"

When Keefe's gaze landed on her, he stared for a moment - in a way that usually made her want to shrink and go back to the introverted twelve-year-old in the back of a twelfth grade field trip. But for some reason, it felt sweeter than that. So instead, her cheeks heated up a bit.

She'd never been good at taking compliments from friends. Even when the compliments were just adoring looks.

So she silently awaited his answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone - that's not the end of chapter two, just the end of chapter two part one. I'll write part two tomorrow!
> 
> Any comments/kudos are appreciated, and feedback/constructive criticism as well!
> 
> Have a good morning/day/evening/night!
> 
> ~KittyPaw


	3. Chapter 2 Part 2: SOPHIE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second half of chapter two of Unlocked, again, from Sophie's perspective instead of Keefe's. Enjoy!
> 
> ~KittyPaw

Sophie watched Keefe patiently, waiting for him to tell her the _truth_.

He sighed. "You don't have to stay back, Foster," he told her, running his fingers through his now very wet hair, no doubt trying to get it to look the way it usually did - cute and messy. "Seriously, I'm much better now. Right, Elwin?"

Sophie turned to Elwin. If he confirmed it, Sophie _might_ be a _little_ less worried.

"I'd prefer you to take another dose of headache medicine first."

"Bring it on. Just no more squelchberries, okay? Let's save those to sneak into Ro's dinner, so we can all have a few hours of silence." Sophie chuckled against her will. Keefe _always did this_ , and unfortunately it seemed to be working.

Ro had taken offense. "Um, excuse me, Berry Boy - I think you're forgetting that I have _plenty_ of ways to make your life miserable, even with the doc's restrictions." Ro shot a meaningful glance at Sophie that caused Keefe to cringe slightly. Sophie couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

Elwin handed him another elixir, and Keefe sighed as he drank it, looking visibly better and more calm. Sophie hadn't even realized how dizzy his eyes had looked until he'd drank the elixir - and now she could tell they'd cleared up significantly.

Maybe Elwin was right, and all he'd needed was headache medicine.

"See, Foster?" Keefe asked, offering an attempt at a reassuring smile. "I'm all good. You don't have to keep hiding in the doorway."

She'd like that to be true.

So she chewed her lip, worked up her courage, took a deep breath and _slightly_ inched forward, looking up at Keefe to see how he reacted.

He visibly cringed when she walked forward slightly, causing her to scramble back even further than before, crashing right into Sandor. It would have been embarassing if she'd had the heart to care. "It _is_ my fault!"

"No, it's not what you think!" Keefe sucked in a shaky breath. "You got nervous about moving closer, right? _That's_ what I felt." So her worry about him was too strong - she was right. She couldn't be near him right now. "And it's not just you. I'm picking up on _everyone's_ mood swings right now, without trying - even Gigantor's, who, I gotta say, is a big old softie. Who knew our favorite goblin had so many fuzzy feelings?"

Sandor let out a squeaky growl.

But Sophie was not amused. If anything, she was even more concerned now than ever.

Keefe sighed, probably realizing his joke hadn't worked. "I'm seriously okay, Foster," Keefe promised. "It's always this way when Empaths first manifest - ask Elwin."

"Well, I'm not an Empath," Elwin admitted. "But... abilities do tend to be overwhelming in the beginning. And it seems like Keefe's empathy has been reset. I'm sure you understand better than any of us how intense that can be, right, Sophie?"

Keefe's empathy had been reset? He must of realized that while she was gone.

And _yes_ , it did remind her of... "fixing the glitch" in her abilities. "Yeeesss," she agreed, dragging out the worried and softly tugging on some of her eyelashes.

But that didn't help her worry.

If Keefe was going through what she'd gone through, that was no reason to drop all concern. If anything, she was _more_ concerned now.

Keefe must have felt that, because he further asserted, "I'm _fine,_ Foster. And yes, Ro, I know I keep saying that. But I'm serious. In a couple of days, I'll be totally back to normal."

Sophie flicked away one of her eyelashes. Of course he thought that. But... "But Fitz said you're a Polyglot now..."

Fitz at least had the decency to look uncomfortable as he mumbled, "Well... I don't know for sure if he is. But he mimicked -"

"No, I _thought_ I mimicked," Keefe corrected. "That doesn't mean I was _right_."

"You realize there's a super-easy way to settle that, don't you?" Ro asked before Fitz could argue. "Do the pretty boy's voice again!"

Ro definitely had a super-easy way to settle it.

But it had nothing to do with mimicking.

Because Sophie was 100% positive that Ro had said that in Ogreish, and that Fitz and Elwin therefore had no idea what she had said.

"Thanks, I'll pass," Keefe said to Ro with a snort. In _perfect Ogreish_.

Sophie sucked in a breath.

Keefe seemed to pick up on her emotions, because he asked, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She sacrificed another eyelash before she told him, "Because... you understood Ro. And you replied back in her same language."

Keefe blinked, shocked evident on his face as Fitz and Elwin nodded.

He spun towards Ro. "You were speaking Ogreish?"

Ro nodded. "So were you. And your pronunciation was perfect." It was. Just as good as Sophie's, and apparently just as second nature. "Who knew you could growl like that?"

She appeared to be setting up a joke opportunity for Keefe.

But he didn't make one.

Keefe looked extremely uncomfortable as he mumbled, "So... I guess I'm a Polyglot, then."

"Why is that bad?" Elwin asked as Keefe reached for his pillow and hugged it tight. Sophie had the thought that it would be better to have Mrs. Stinkbottom here. "Your dad's an Empath. Your mom's a Polyglot. Now you have both of their abilities. That's honestly the way the matchmakers wish it would work all the time!"

Keefe rolled his eyes. "Awesoe, because my goal in life has always been to make the matchmakeres happy," he said sarcastically, and well, Sophie was with him there. "Besides, we all know I wasn't a Polyglot yesterday - or the day before, or the day before that. And I wouldn't be one now if my mom hadn't attacked all of my friends, brought me to King Enki's throne, and..."

He shook his head, not continuing the story.

Sophie didn't blame him. She didn't want to relive it either.

But one look at Keefe's faraway eyes, and she knew his photographic memory was playing back every last terrifying moment. She closed her eyes and breathed, willing her personal memory to stay silent.

But when she opened her eyes, she could tell that going through every last moment was too much for Keefe. And she made the decision that walking closer to him to comfort him couldn't possibly hurt him more than whatever he was seeing in his memories.

She took a few strides closer to his cot, saying, "Hey." She tried to make her voice quiet and comforting - she understood what he was going through.

When his eyes opened, he looked a little lessed stress when he saw her, which made her heart warm again. But best of all, it didn't make his senses freak out. So she closed the distance between her and the cot.

"Hey," she said again. "I know what you're thinking - and _not_ because I read your mind. I just... I get it, okay?" She sighed slightly - she was really bad at this, and had no idea what to say, but she _had_ to comfort him. It made her heart break to see him like this - freaked out and traumatized and convinced he had to carry it alone.

So she took a deep breath and tried again. "I've been experimented on too. I know what it's like to have _unnatural_ abilities - how unsettling it is. And I've been lucky, since the Black Swan -"

"Aren't psychotic murderers?"

It would have stung if Keefe had meant it that way, but he clearly hadn't. He was already looking slightly better. So Sophie continued.

"Well... yeah, that does make it a little easier. But I've also been lucky because they've been pretty good about reminding me of something I'm sure your mom is hoping you'll forget." She waited for him to look at her before saying, "You still have a choice, Keefe. Nothing your mom does will ever take that away. She can give you whatever abilities she wants, but she can't make you use them. You're not her puppet - you're Keefe Sencen: the most stubborn person I know."

Sandor snorted from the doorway. "Boy, is _that_ the truth."

"Tell me about it," Ro agreed.

She saw Keefe's lips twitching a bit. Like they wanted to smile.

And even if he couldn't bring himself to do it, Sophie was relieved that he was feeling a little better. Anything was better than the worried, freaked out, traumatized look that had been on his face.

"You should listen to your pretty little Blondie, Hunkyhair," Ro told him. "I honestly don't know what your mom is thinking. Like... she's met you. She has to know there's no way you're ever going to do what she wants you to. So why give you more elf-y powers to use against her?"

"And why a Polyglot?" Fitz added. "It's not exactly the most useful talent. Not that it's bad or anything," he added with a sheepish glance towards Sophie.

But Sophie wasn't offended. She'd been wondering the same thing.

And she could tell from the look on Keefe's face that he was too.

What did his mom want him to be able to do with this ability that she couldn't do for herself?

"Well... maybe this is proof that your mom's plan isn't very good," Sophie suggested. And boy, did she hope that was the answer.

"Yeah, most of the Neverseen's plans don't make a whole lot of sense," Fitz reminded him.

"And yet, they keep _beating_ us," Keefe muttered, tossing his pillow aside, "usually because we can't figure out what they want until it's too late. Aaaaaaaaaaand here we are again."

"Wow, that's _quite_ a pity party you're throwing for yourself," Ro told him.

"Uh, if anyone's heaping on any pity, it's you guys," Keefe said, making a show of fanning himself.

But Sophie didn't pity him. That wasn't it.

"I don't think your senses are as good as you think they are," Sophie said, offering him her hand. "You're not getting any pity from me. Go ahead and check."

Keefe stared at her hand for a little bit. Then he reached up and touched her hand...

Sophie waited for him to read it, but his eyes blanked. He blinked a few times, yanked his hand back, fell back down, and now the panic was back again - and this time, Sophie was _positive_ it was her fault. What on Earth had she been thinking?

And then Keefe took a deep breath and shouted, in a sharper, darker tone than his normal voice: "NUMB!"

Sophie's senses paused.

It was like every nerve in her body had died.

She couldn't feel a thing from head to toe. Everything was just... _blank_.

A pair of hands jostled her wrists. The jarring motion should have startled her, except that she couldn't feel it.

And then the ground came rushing towards her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Yes, the ending bled a little bit over into Sophie's chapter - just the very first page though, to make for a better chapter ending/cliffhanger. Next chapter will be the one from Sophie's perspective, except from Keefe's perspective this time! Again, probably broken into two parts.
> 
> Coments/kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> ~KittyPaw


End file.
